As of next semester, I will be a 1st year Master's student at the Waseda University Journalism School.
And so it begins...
!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Home Run
Lying down on the damp grass... in the middle of an empty baseball field...in Tokyo...at night
...and looking up at sky, is one of the most liberating experiences I have had in this country.
And I wasn't even drunk or stoned.
That sense of euphoria no drug can induce
I also never realized exactly HOW claustrophobic this concrete jungle makes one feel...until I walked into (read: sneaked into) the empty open field. Its like being able to breathe again, properly...without any inhibitions.
Thank you wide-open spaces...and the people who lead you there.
...and looking up at sky, is one of the most liberating experiences I have had in this country.
And I wasn't even drunk or stoned.
That sense of euphoria no drug can induce
I also never realized exactly HOW claustrophobic this concrete jungle makes one feel...until I walked into (read: sneaked into) the empty open field. Its like being able to breathe again, properly...without any inhibitions.
Thank you wide-open spaces...and the people who lead you there.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
I have a secret...
"There are two kinds of secrets:
those we keep from others,
and the ones we hide from ourselves."
Frank Warren, PostSecret
I will eternally be grateful to Kaos for introducing this site to me.
Initially when I started reading it I thought it was masochistic to follow because every Sunday (or Monday when I would go back to work after the weekend) I would wait for the site to be updated, read the secrets and then feel very down for a while. Some of the secrets are funny, some are sad, some inspiring and most are just downright depressing.
But since then I have come to enjoy reading it, learned to revel in the pleasure these people get from sharing their secrets and quite fascinated by how the guilt of each secret is somehow reduced when shared with complete strangers. It must be quite liberating.
And to have the opportunity to do that must definitely save lives and rejuvenate souls, for secrets are such that, you can either take them to your grave...or they take you to your grave.
those we keep from others,
and the ones we hide from ourselves."
Frank Warren, PostSecret
I will eternally be grateful to Kaos for introducing this site to me.
Initially when I started reading it I thought it was masochistic to follow because every Sunday (or Monday when I would go back to work after the weekend) I would wait for the site to be updated, read the secrets and then feel very down for a while. Some of the secrets are funny, some are sad, some inspiring and most are just downright depressing.
But since then I have come to enjoy reading it, learned to revel in the pleasure these people get from sharing their secrets and quite fascinated by how the guilt of each secret is somehow reduced when shared with complete strangers. It must be quite liberating.
And to have the opportunity to do that must definitely save lives and rejuvenate souls, for secrets are such that, you can either take them to your grave...or they take you to your grave.
Geographically Challenged. Part 2 (Episode 1054)
SO apparently there is never any assurance of what may or may not be asked at a Master's Entrance interview.
These questions will definitely be asked:
Why do you want to study at blahblahblah university/faculty?
What is your Master's research plan?
What do you plan to do after completing said Master's course?
And, as I found out, there is also a possibility of THESE questions being asked:
I don't know where Fiji is...Where is Fiji? Can you explain in Japanese?
What is the difference between Tahiti and Fiji?
In retrospect, it was quite amusing indeed.
Duration of Interview: less than 10minutes.
FINAL FINAL Results announcement: 9th July.
I will then know for sure if I get two more years of cheap, authentic....sushi. :)
These questions will definitely be asked:
Why do you want to study at blahblahblah university/faculty?
What is your Master's research plan?
What do you plan to do after completing said Master's course?
And, as I found out, there is also a possibility of THESE questions being asked:
I don't know where Fiji is...Where is Fiji? Can you explain in Japanese?
What is the difference between Tahiti and Fiji?
In retrospect, it was quite amusing indeed.
Duration of Interview: less than 10minutes.
FINAL FINAL Results announcement: 9th July.
I will then know for sure if I get two more years of cheap, authentic....sushi. :)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Ribbit...omg I'm going to die...ribbit
Had a near-death experience involving me and a toad yesterday.
Ko-chan, his knee and I were taking a walk through Tokyo's "Govt Offices" district (I'm sure there is a more official term for it, I just can't remember it right now) and walking through a park that borders the Imperial palace grounds (but is separated by a huge fort like thing and a great volume of water lest someone try to cross over...BUT I'll save that story for another day!)
SO yeah, walking through park, commenting on how the area (and so many other places in Tokyo) grow a different personality at night and then Ko-chan very nonchalantly mentions "oh look! a toad (or frog or something)" I look down and inches (YES INCHES!!!!!) away from my foot sat the BIGGEST toad I have every seen in my entire effing life. EEEEEEEEK!!!
Luckily I (apparently) work very well under pressure and my brain stopped screaming for a second and reminded itself that toads (or frogs or whatever that giant monster was).....JUMP!....double EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK........
And that brilliant reminder initiated my own jump....I am sure I broke some kinda long-jump record because within seconds I was 5meters away....yelling all the while. Yes, very smooth. I know.
/shudder. ewgh! ugh! yewgh!
And if I weren't so shit scared of said creature, I would actually feel sorry for it because Ko-chan and his knee then proceeded to use their new iphone to take photos of its monstrosity.
hmpf.
oh, and I have my interview for the Master's entrance in a few hours and am almost as scared!
/deep breath.
/exhale.
Ko-chan, his knee and I were taking a walk through Tokyo's "Govt Offices" district (I'm sure there is a more official term for it, I just can't remember it right now) and walking through a park that borders the Imperial palace grounds (but is separated by a huge fort like thing and a great volume of water lest someone try to cross over...BUT I'll save that story for another day!)
SO yeah, walking through park, commenting on how the area (and so many other places in Tokyo) grow a different personality at night and then Ko-chan very nonchalantly mentions "oh look! a toad (or frog or something)" I look down and inches (YES INCHES!!!!!) away from my foot sat the BIGGEST toad I have every seen in my entire effing life. EEEEEEEEK!!!
Luckily I (apparently) work very well under pressure and my brain stopped screaming for a second and reminded itself that toads (or frogs or whatever that giant monster was).....JUMP!....double EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK........
And that brilliant reminder initiated my own jump....I am sure I broke some kinda long-jump record because within seconds I was 5meters away....yelling all the while. Yes, very smooth. I know.
/shudder. ewgh! ugh! yewgh!
And if I weren't so shit scared of said creature, I would actually feel sorry for it because Ko-chan and his knee then proceeded to use their new iphone to take photos of its monstrosity.
hmpf.
oh, and I have my interview for the Master's entrance in a few hours and am almost as scared!
/deep breath.
/exhale.
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